The availability of preschool education has long ceased to be exclusively an educational issue, since the work of kindergartens affects the ability of parents to work, the financial stability of families, and daily care for children. This problem is especially acute in wartime, where a significant number of families raise children under constant stress, long separations from loved ones, or the absence of one parent due to military service. The decision of individual communities to simultaneously close all kindergartens for the summer period is increasingly becoming a reason for appeals to the educational ombudsman and a subject of discussion among parents.
Is it legal to close kindergartens in the summer
The situation in which all preschool institutions in a community stop working for several months has the most painful effect on families with young children. While in large cities parents can sometimes find an alternative in another district or turn to private institutions, in rural areas there is often simply no choice.
In such circumstances, families find themselves faced with a difficult choice. One of the parents has to take a vacation, seek outside help, or leave work for a certain period. For many families, where raising children and providing for the family is actually carried out by one person, this situation creates additional difficulties that could be avoided if preschool institutions were organized differently.
The educational ombudsman Nadiya Leshchyk drew attention to this problem, noting that decisions to simultaneously close all kindergartens due to repairs or lack of funds often do not take into account the real needs of families and can limit children’s access to preschool education.
Ukrainian legislation defines preschool education as the right of every child, and ensuring access to it is the responsibility of state bodies, local governments, and founders of educational institutions. The law also provides for the possibility of obtaining preschool education in the most accessible institution near the place of residence.
An important detail remains that the legislation does not contain the concept of summer vacation for kindergartens. Unlike schools that operate according to the academic calendar, preschools must organize their activities in such a way that the needs of children and parents remain met throughout the year.
That is why the issue of summer operation of kindergartens concerns not only the internal organization of the institutions, but also the fulfillment by communities of their obligations to ensure the right of children to education and proper care.
Despite legislative guarantees, there are circumstances that really complicate the continuous operation of preschool institutions. First of all, this concerns repairs, without which it is impossible to maintain the proper condition of buildings and premises.
Sanitary regulations prohibit children from staying in groups during major repairs and painting work. In addition, kindergarten employees have the right to a long annual vacation, which is 56 calendar days. Because of this, communities are forced to resolve issues of staffing and technical maintenance of institutions during the summer period.
However, the mere presence of repairs or vacations does not mean that the only way out is to completely stop the entire preschool education system in the community. This is what representatives of the education sector emphasize, who believe that management decisions should take into account the interests of children and parents along with economic needs.
What solutions are communities using
In different regions of Ukraine, mechanisms have already been developed that allow combining repairs, staff vacations, and the availability of preschool education. Instead of simultaneously closing all institutions, individual communities organize alternate kindergartens that accept children from several institutions for the duration of the work.
In other cases, alternate closures of institutions are used, which allows some kindergartens to continue operating. Combining groups, transferring children to other institutions, and flexible planning of employee vacations have also become common practice.
Such solutions require additional organization, but they avoid a situation in which parents are left alone with the problem of caring for a child throughout the summer.
Particular difficulties arise in settlements where only one preschool education institution operates. In such communities, it is impossible to transfer children to another kindergarten within the same settlement, so the issue of summer operation becomes much more complicated.
For such cases, the educational ombudsman recommends considering additional options for organizing preschool education. These include transporting children to institutions in neighboring communities, creating mini-kindergartens, pedagogical partnership centers, or child development centers.
Such formats allow for supervision of children even where a full-fledged network of preschool institutions is absent or temporarily unable to operate due to repairs or staffing restrictions.
What should parents do if all kindergartens in a community are closed for the summer
Parents should write to the founder of the institution, that is, the local council or its education department, with a request to explain the reasons for the closure of all kindergartens and provide an alternative option for children. The appeal should state that the law does not provide for summer vacations for preschool institutions, and the community is obliged to ensure children’s access to preschool education.
In the application, it is advisable to request the organization of another kindergarten, temporary transfer of children to another institution, group consolidation, or transportation to the nearest working kindergarten. If there is only one kindergarten in the community, parents may request consideration of other forms of organizing care and preschool education, including a mini-kindergarten, a child development center, or a temporary unit at another educational institution.
If the local authorities do not respond or give a response, it is worth submitting a collective appeal from several parents, since such an application carries more weight. An explanation can be added to the application that the closure of all kindergartens deprives children of access to preschool education, and parents of the opportunity to work, especially in military families, single parents, or families where there is no one to care for the child.
In the absence of a decision, parents can contact the educational ombudsman, the local military administration, or the education management body in the region. The appeal should briefly describe the situation, indicate the name of the community, the institutions that have closed, the period of suspension of work, and attach copies of the local authorities’ responses, if they already exist.
Parents should also be asked to provide a copy of the decision to suspend the work of kindergartens. If there is no such decision or it is made without explanation, without alternatives for children, and without taking into account the needs of families, this may be grounds for appealing the actions of the local authorities.
Why the problem became especially relevant during the war
The war significantly changed the daily lives of Ukrainian families, and the availability of kindergartens has become one of the factors of social stability of communities. In many families, men serve in the military, which places the main burden of raising children and providing for the family on mothers or other close relatives.
Under these conditions, closing all kindergartens, even for a few months, creates a problem that goes far beyond the educational sphere. The lack of the opportunity to leave a child under supervision affects employment, the level of family income and the ability of parents to combine work with raising children.
That is why the issue of summer kindergarten work is increasingly being considered through the prism of the needs of children of war, for whom a stable environment, communication with peers and access to educational space are of particular importance. For local authorities, finding a balance between the economic needs of institutions and the right of children to preschool education is becoming one of the practical challenges that cannot be solved by simply closing all kindergartens by the fall.
